Two communities in 'border dispute' over new security gate

Members of the Hunters Ridge community are finding themselves torn over new gate. (Source: Lisa Gresci)

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - Members of the Hunters Ridge community are finding themselves torn over new gate. While the Hunters Ridge neighborhood is made up of five different communities, two of them can't seem to come to an agreement.

The problem is traffic that one community, the Legacy Community, has blamed on the other, the Plantation community, and now they're putting up a gate to block them out.

"We'd like to be heard, but we were not. We were totally cut out of the decision. and that just doesn't make sense to me," said Marlowe Ubl, the president of the Plantation community's Home Owners Association.

The Plantation community is connected to the Legacy community by one main road, Hunters Trail. On Monday, posts were installed for a new gate, officially parting the two, a move both sides claim was approved by the Horry County Planning and Zoning Board.

However, Ubl says he was not informed of the meeting about the new gate, despite its installation affecting the Plantation community directly.

"So now we're an isolated community, separated from all the rest of Hunters Ridge," Ubl says. He sees the gate as a barrier, because it blocks residents from traveling down Hunters Ridge.

Bob Walker has lived in the Plantation community for more that 15 years, and his mother living right down the street used to make things easier.

"She's 88 years old and I have to check on her, so this is really going to be inconvenient for us because we now have a four-mile trip instead of about a half a mile or three-quarters of a mile," Walker said.

Walker explained he hasn't told his mother about the gate yet, in fear he would upset her.

Walker describes the situation as a "border dispute" that's been going on for years. He says the dispute goes back to the back entrance of the Plantation community, and the accessibility to the gate there.

The vice president of the Legacy community, Jim Georgia, stands firmly behind the decision to install the gate between the two communities.

Georgia says it was their only solution to stop being a cut through community. Georgia explained 100 of the Legacy's 143 residents voted in favor of the gate and the only ones able to get through this gate aside from residents, will be emergency responders.

However, Ubl says it's going to stop much more than that.

"They're going to have to redo all their routes because the buses right now, just go straight on down hunters trail, you know and service both communities," Ubl said.

Ubl says same goes for UPS, the mail, and garbage trucks, and even though all five communities pay for the front entrance, the Plantation community will have to rely on their back keycard-only entrance.

"It's just hard to believe that adults can't sit at a table and figure something out," Walker said.

Ubl says he's willing to do whatever it takes to compromise with the legacy community and spent Monday making calls and meeting with county officials, but if all goes to plan right now, the gate will be locked starting on April 20.

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May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, meaning ticks are out in full force. Local veterinarians say the number of Lyme disease cases in Horry County has doubled since 2014. Warmer weather calls for outdoor activities with your loved ones, including your pets. Vets say it's important for everyone to perform daily tick checks on yourselves and especially your pets. This season, tick sightings are already soaring.

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, meaning ticks are out in full force. Local veterinarians say the number of Lyme disease cases in Horry County has doubled since 2014. Warmer weather calls for outdoor activities with your loved ones, including your pets. Vets say it's important for everyone to perform daily tick checks on yourselves and especially your pets. This season, tick sightings are already soaring.

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